Now is Not the Time to Save Trees

So, you're writing your thesis (or major research paper or dissertation). You've probably got a tonne of articles, book chapters, and other resources to read. Maybe you're trying to save money by reading them off your computer or iPad. Maybe you're trying to avoid "wasting" so much paper. Maybe you're trying to save your back because paper copies are heavy to carry... But really, you should just print them and get on with reading, analyzing, thinking, and writing.

Don't get me wrong -- I'm the first person to say that you should only print what you must, that you should use recycled paper, that you should print on both sides (shrinking the pages so that two can be printed on each side), that you shouldn't waste paper. I'm a big fan of the three Rs (reduce, reuse, recycle). But this is one of those times when I say, "Print! Print it all!"

There's a practical reason for this: with a print copy, you can highlight important parts and make notes to yourself in the margins. You can colour-code and label. Now, I know many people will say that they can highlight and make notes on electronic copies -- and that is true -- but it's really not the same. Returning to the annotations in an electronic copy of an article can be quite clumsy and time-consuming. The benefit of the hard copy is that after you've done the reading, highlighting, and notating, you can then physically rearrange your sources for the writing process. You could pile them according to topic area, you could stack them in the order you intend to cite them, you could arrange them in any number of ways that suit the task at hand. And as you work through a stack for a particular section of your thesis, you can move them to a discard pile, which can be surprisingly motivating as you actually see your progress (with fewer and fewer articles left to reference).

There is something about the way that we physically interact with our readings and hand-write notes that helps with recall and thought processes. And it certainly can't hurt to give your eyes a rest from all of those glowing screens. Maybe I'm old school on this point, but I really do believe hard copy is better.

So take it from me: now is not the time to save trees. And if you feel guilty, then plant a tree or two when you're finished your thesis.

Wood Burning Ornaments

When I was sick earlier this year, I took up wood burning. I started thinking that making ornaments might be fun and found inspiration on Pinterest. I went out and purchased a few wooden rounds to test, but didn't find time to get back to the project until last week.

I started out with two basic ideas, just to get back into the groove. What I've discovered is that the wood that these rounds are made out of is really soft and leads to an uneven burn if you're not careful. Still, I like the way they turned out. I'm thinking I may stain them more of a golden colour, since the wood is so very, very pale. Hanging from a red ribbon, I think these will make a nice gift.

I saw a few cute designs on Pinterest that featured foxes, so I may try something like that next month when I have more time.

What would you like to see on a wood burned ornament?

Writing Rituals

I have a confession to make. It is impossible for me to get any writing done in my office. There are distractions everywhere. Even with the door closed, I can see movement in the hallway. It breaks my concentration. I sit and stare more than I type. The phone rings. The temperature isn't right. Students want to chat. Colleagues pop by. Emails ping. Papers beg to be filed away. There can be no quick trips to the cafeteria to caffeinate because people I haven't seen in months seem to come out of the woodwork on writing days.

And so on writing days, I am most productive when I am home. I have a writing ritual. It developed during my PhD and has served me well. Sure, some say you should write everyday and perhaps that does work for some people. But for me, the blitz marathon writing session works. I'm in a hyper-focussed state. I'm productive. I get it done.

Writing for me is best done at a dining room table. I attribute this to the fact that as a kid, I sat at the dining room table with my sister and mother (a teacher) while we all did our "homework." At the same table, my father (an entrepreneur) balanced the books or prepared estimates related to his construction business. That's where I developed study habits and learned to focus on the task at hand. During my undergraduate degree, I installed myself at an aunt's dining room table when writing papers. She totally got it. And I admit to being a little lost in my master's degree when there was no dining room table at which to work (I lived in residence). Large tables in libraries served as substitutes.

The space is helpful. I spread out my materials around my laptop and still have room for a notepad to write ideas and reminders.

I also have a particular coffee that I drink when writing: Illy. It's delicious, but expensive. It's saved only for special occasions — like writing. I make a pot and a promise: I will begin writing before I start the second cup. It hasn't failed me yet.

And then I transform into a marathoner, writing for hours on end. I write from the outline in my head or notes scrawled on paper, and then revise and expand. I always print a copy when editing because I can more clearly see how to re-order arguments, sentences, paragraphs, and sections.

It's my writing process and it works for me. And so I feel very strongly that it's important to establish your own writing ritual -- something that works for you and makes the process more enjoyable.



* This blog was originally published on the Cape Breton University website in February 2014. 

A Halloween Village

Last winter, I purchased the cutting files to make a Christmas village with my Cameo. I found a church, a town house, a shop, a house, and a barn designed by Marji Roy. I loved them and made a set out of white card stock to decorate my apartment for Christmas. Following the tutorial, I lined my buildings with wax paper so that the windows would appear frosted -- it was a winter scene after all!

I have since wondered what they would look like in other colours. For example, I've seen them on Pinterest made from what appears to be kraft paper and they look fantastic. I am thinking about trying that for this winter. In the meantime, I thought I would experiment with making them in black for Halloween.

This time I lined them with orange tissue paper and added a few purple pumpkins and orange chocolate balls. Sure, it's not spooky like some of the Halloween villages you can buy from the design store, but I like the way it turned out. I'm thinking about adding a graveyard to the church if I have time before Halloween. Next year I may try making the village in purple and orange!

How do you decorate for Halloween?

Reward Yourself

A little reward can go a long way when you're trying to finish that thesis, major research paper, or dissertation. I believe very strongly that you should take the time to identify goals and milestones, as well as the rewards that go along with them. If you celebrate your accomplishments, you're more likely to have accomplishments.

The key to setting rewards is to be sure they match the task at hand. If you write one sentence, you probably haven't earned an Ice Road Truckers marathon. But if you've read a 20-page academic article filled with jargon, I'd say you deserve a coffee break with an episode of Scandal on Netflix.

For writing, I think it's useful to have rewards at several levels. For example, for every five pages written, you might enjoy a movie or a few chapters from a novel (or coffee or whatever else motivates you). For every chapter completed, you might treat yourself to lunch or supper at a favourite restaurant with a friend. And when you complete the draft, why not enjoy a spa day followed by dinner at your favourite Indian restaurant with a bottle of Wolf Blass Brown Label! (I know I certainly did when I submitted my dissertation for examination!)

These rewards can be used in the research or data collection stage as well. Set your tasks for the day, block the time to do them, and when you've completed them, enjoy the reward you've identified. Got a stack of articles to read for a literature review? Read an article, watch an episode of Community, read another article, watch an episode of Community, read yet another article...

You get the picture: reward yourself. But remember that you can't have the reward until you've reached the milestone!

Saying No

It can be very difficult to say no when someone asks you to do something. It could be a short contract for that favourite professor of yours, it could be a favour for someone you'll need for a job reference in the future, or it could be your friend who is searching for volunteers for an upcoming fundraiser. It's important to be realistic about whether you can take something on and to say no when the request will impact your writing schedule or have little benefit to you.

Before committing to anything, I always find it helpful to first ask a question. "When would you need it by?" Then I decide whether that would work for my schedule and respond accordingly. For example, I was contacted by the editors of a book to review a chapter on Saami music. Since they hadn't included a deadline in their email request, I immediately replied asking what their timeline was. It turned out that they expected a turn-around of two weeks. Since I had several other commitments during that period, I replied that I couldn't possibly provide a review until a date four weeks later. They agreed to my timeline and I booked time in my schedule to prepare the review by the deadline I had suggested. Of course, if they said they were firm on the two week turn-around, I would have suggested they contact someone else and I would not have agreed to do the review.

It's also important to consider whether the request is reasonable. Is it coming at the last minute or is the person contacting you early enough to allow you to find a way to work it into your schedule? Is it a relatively quick task that you can accomplish in a few hours, or are you likely to invest 40-50 hours of your precious time to complete it? Are you being asked to do it pro bono or will you be paid fairly for your work? I'm not suggesting that you shouldn't invest your time in worthy projects as a volunteer. I'm just saying you should know what you're getting into up front and make an informed decision.

You must also consider the true impact and benefit to you, your CV, and your future employment. There may be trade-offs and they may be worth it, but be sure you're realistic about it. For example, if you're a doctoral student and you're offered a course to teach part-way through a term because the professor teaching it has had a medical emergency, you need to think things through. It will result in a significant impact on the time you have available to complete your own research and writing goals (class time, office hours, prep time, marking, email exchanges with students, etc). However, if you are thinking about university teaching as a career, the course will look great on your CV, you'll have course evaluations to put into a dossier, you'll get to find out whether you really like teaching, and it may open the door to other teaching opportunities. The benefits may outweigh the impact to your research and writing schedule. In contrast, sitting at an info booth as a volunteer for four days during a conference may in fact have very little benefit for you, though you may feel good for having helped out and the organizers may have appreciated your work. Only you can decide whether that is worth the impact.

Again, I'm not saying that you shouldn't volunteer. Volunteers are critically important to society and volunteering is often the mark of a well-rounded individual in job searches. What I am saying is that you should do things that you love and are passionate about, and that will also have some benefit for you (such as feeling good about your contribution, having the opportunity to take on a leadership role, or learning a new skill). I'm also saying that you must be certain that you can fit whatever you commit to into your schedule and that it won't negatively impact your research and writing goals.

If you decide a request isn't reasonable, that it will negatively impact your own academic progress, or that it has little benefit to you, it's ok to say no. "I'm sorry, I'm not able to take on any additional commitments right now." If you know of someone who would genuinely be interested in the opportunity, you could also say, "You might want to check with so-and-so. She's been looking for a volunteer outlet recently."

It's true that saying no takes some practice. One strategy when asked to do something is to not respond immediately so that you don't feel like you're on the spot. My colleague who has lots of wisdom to share noted that she has started responding to requests by saying, "I'll have to check my schedule and get back to you." That takes the pressure off of having to answer right then and there. Instead, she really can take the time to check her schedule to see if she's free. It also buys time to think through the benefits and impacts of saying yes before making a decision. It's important with this strategy, however, to get back to the person as soon as possible with your decision -- don't use it as an avoidance tactic.

Finally, it's easier to say no if you already have a list of the types of activities you will not do or do not have time for. One of my colleagues calls this a "Not To Do List." It is a list of the types of things she is frequently asked to do that are of little benefit to her, don't align with her own volunteer priorities, or that she just doesn't like to do. For example, when I was a graduate student, I often would agree to write CD reviews for a quarterly publication of a music society. I did it because it would build my CD with something until I had legitimate publications based in my own research. I also did it to be involved in the society. Now, however, CD reviews are on my "Not To Do List." In the context of my CV, they offer very little benefit other than adding bulk. I am now a director for that society, so I am involved in other ways. Finally, I don't remember the last time I actually held a CD in my hands and, when you move as often as I have, they just become something else to lug around from one apartment or one province to the next. Now if I'm asked to review a CD, I say, "I'm sorry, I don't review CDs. Perhaps one of the graduate students in Memorial's ethnomusicology program would be interested?"

So what should be on your "Not To Do List"? Only you can know. Perhaps you won't add any new volunteer opportunities or you'll choose one cause (say, Multiple Sclerosis) and only volunteer in relation to that. You  might limit the types of volunteer activities you engage in (for example, if you feel really awkward selling tickets because you have no family in the area to force them upon). Maybe you feel like a book club would be "good for you" but you actually hate reading the books and going to discuss them -- just don't do it! The important thing here is to identify activities that you won't do and then actually write them down and post them somewhere near your schedule. That way, if you're asked to do something, like join yet another committee that will meet a lot and accomplish nothing, you can respond, "I'll have to check my schedule," and while you are checking your schedule, you can re-check your "Not To Do List."

Do you have a "Not To Do List"?

Tis the Season?

Last weekend I finally got TV after many years without it and last night I reconnected with some of my favourite shows, like How It's Made. While sitting on my sofa, watching an episode on how canvas teepees are made, it occurred to me that perhaps I should do something productive. I pulled out my stash of polymer clay and decided to make a few ornaments.

These snowmen have been one of my favourite things to make for many years now. They are quick and easy, and (I think) very cute. Sometimes they have hats, sometimes scarves. Sometimes they are standard rotund snowmen, and sometimes they are smores-inspired (mini marshmallow shaped and standing on a chocolate base).

I often have dozens of these (and other ornaments) on hand the month before Christmas, because I make them while watching TV or movies. It's nothing to make 10 of them in a sitting. By the time Christmas comes around, they are all gone. I give them to friends and family, and sometimes I bring them to work and leave them in the common area for anyone who wants one. A few years ago, I did this at the university, and I was surprised by how quickly 20 or so of them disappeared (I suspect that some people took more than one...).

Sometimes I think I should go into production and try selling them at Christmas craft fairs. I've often wondered whether they would sell or not. Perhaps one day I will test it out -- but in the meantime, I'll have to restock my supplies.